Turret for bottle capping machine

ABSTRACT

The present invention overcomes the above-perceived problems associated with the known art. The present invention provides an efficient capping machine with an improved turret that may be retrofitted to existing capping machines or included as an integral component of a new capping machine. The improved capping machine includes a rotatable turret that is significantly smaller than conventional bottling turrets. The improved turret utilizes fewer moving parts and it has a smaller mass that enables the turret to rotate more efficiently while requiring less power. The improved capping machine includes a rotating turret section coupled to a mounting plate and support. A cap delivery chute assembly is associated therewith. The improved turret includes a rotatable frame secured to an elevation shaft of the central hub via a torsion bearing assembly. The rotatable frame is driven by a bull gear associated with the capping machine. Preferably, a plurality of spindles, generally at least two or more, are regularly spaced about the periphery of the turret. Each spindle secures a screw-on cap to a respective bottle during turret rotation. The bull gear drives each spindle as the turret rotates about the central hub. Ordinarily, each spindle secures a screw-on cap to a bottle during slightly less than one revolution of the turret about the capping machine. Each spindle includes a spindle cylinder secured to the turret by an upper plate and a lower plate. Each spindle cylinder includes a mobile spindle piston that moves vertically inside the spindle cylinder. An elongated spindle shaft is secured to the piston. An important feature of the invention is the ability to remove an entire spindle unit from the turret. This facilitates more efficient maintenance while decreasing down time. The spindle shaft has upper and lower terminal ends. The upper terminal end of the spindle shaft includes a spindle gear that is driven by the bull gear. The lower terminal end of the spindle shaft includes a capping head secured thereto for screwing caps onto a bottle. An intermediate cam follower is secured to the spindle shaft. The cam follower is secured to the piston which is rotationally secured by brass slides. The spindle rotates inside the stationery piston. During turret rotation, the spindle piston moves vertically in the spindle cylinder as the spindle follower traverses a track defined in an inner cam secured to the central hub. In many conventional bottling machines, the spindle moves upwardly and downwardly in response to the cam follower as the turret rotates about the cam between an upper dwell and a lower dwell where the cap is screwed on to the bottle. The present invention works similarly. The rotating turret is driven by a peripheral gear upon the central hub. As the turret rotates, the bull gear drives the spindle gears to rotate the spindle shafts. The cam follower on each spindle shaft follows the cam track on the central cam to raise and lower the spindle as is the conventional manner. As the spindle passes the cap delivery assembly, the capping head picks up a bottle cap for subsequent application to a bottle. The associated cap delivery assembly places respective bottle caps adjacent rotating bottles beneath the capping head during the descent from the upper dwell to the lower dwell such that the cap may enter the capping head in a conventional fashion for subsequent placement upon the bottle. The capping turret as well as the cap delivery assembly are synchronized so that caps are delivered during the proper sequence of events to be loaded into the capping head as the capping head moves past the cap delivery assembly region. After a cap is inserted into the capping head, the capping head moves to an upper position above the bottle top for subsequent application of the screw-on closure to the bottle. As the turret continues to rotate, the cam follower descends in the cam track to lower the spindle shaft and capping head with captured closure upon the upright bottle. During the entire procedure, the capping head and spindle shaft rotate so that the bottle closure is already rotating as it descends upon the bottle threaded neck adjacent the bottle top. The capping head secures the closure to the bottle with the application of sufficient torque to ensure retention thereof.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to and is a continuation of U.S.provisional application Ser. No. 60/208,024, filed May 30, 2000, and ofU.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/208,661, filed May 31, 2000.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention.

[0003] The present invention relates to improvements in bottle cappingmachines or bottle filling and capping machines to improve theefficiency and reliability of capping bottles and especially plasticbottles which have become a very common container for beverages and, tosome extent, other liquids. More particularly, the invention relates toimprovements particularly suited for bottles with pre-threaded screwcaps. Such bottles also often have a three dimensional bottom surfaceof, what might be termed, a radially symmetric flower-shape. This commonand nearly universal shape for plastic bottles will be referred toherein as a petaloid shape, or simply petaloid.

[0004] 2. Known Art.

[0005] As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the bottlingindustry has for some time now been adopting plastic containers toreplace glass containers and it is believed that this trend will likelycontinue. These plastic containers have been evolving for several yearsand the majority now use screw-on closures.

[0006] As screw-on caps for bottles have become commonplace,improvements have been made to capping heads for such application. Forexample, previously proposed inventions directed only to capping machineheads that addressed certain problems associated therewith have issuedas U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,437,139 and 4,313,769, the teachings of which arehereby incorporated by reference herein. Certain conventional bottlecapping apparatus however, have remained relatively unchanged from theirembodiments as capping machines for primarily glass containers.

[0007] For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,099,361 to Dix et al, shows anapparatus for applying closures to filled bottles. The apparatus uses aslide cam cooperating with interchangeable roll-on and crimp-on closureapplying heads which are mounted in a rotating turret so as to raise andlower the heads with respect to the bottles. The device usesinterchangeable slide cam inserts to modify the slide cam trackdepending upon whether roll-on or crimp-on closure applying heads aremounted in the turret (i.e. whether the container was plastic or glass).The device uses a relatively large turret of substantial mass to applyboth types of closures.

[0008] Yet another example of a capping machine is shown in U.S. Pat.No. 4,658,565 to Westbrook et al. In this device, the capping machineapplies plastic screw-on caps. The capping machine includes a turretrotating about a stationary hub wherein the rotating turret includes aplurality of operating stations that each has a cap chuck and a lowergripping structure for engaging the bottle upon which the cap is to bescrewed. This device uses a bulky, massive turret structure in theconventional fashion. The teachings of both references are in relevantpart hereby incorporated by reference herein.

[0009] In processing screw cap threaded bottles or containers through aknown type of filling and/or capping machine (such a shown, for example,in U.S. Pat. No. 4,295,320 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,565, the disclosuresof which are incorporated by reference herein), it was found necessaryto prevent the rotating capping head that applies the screw cap fromalso rapidly rotating the bottle; such rotation of the bottle can have avery deleterious effect on the operation of the machine as the bottlespass through at a high rate of speed, often 100 bottles per minute ormore. Various expedients have been employed to prevent rotation of thebottle as the screw cap is rotated on the threaded bottle neck andfirmly seated with a desired torque.

[0010] A very common expedient has been to provide knife elements or pinelements which penetrate the upper portion of the plastic bottle, as atthe peripheral lip immediately below the cap position. The reliabilityof such a technique is less than desirable and has the disadvantage thatit inevitably leaves a mark on the bottle. A previously proposedinvention addressing this problem issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,400, therelevant portions of which are incorporated by reference herein.

[0011] The advent of gripping the petaloid bottles at the bottom whileapplying a cap to the top of the bottle has proven to be quitecommercially successful and petaloid bottles have become a mainstay ofthe bottling industry. The industry however continues to use cappingmachines, and particularly capping turrets, originally intended to applycrimp-on closures to glass bottles. These capping turrets are large,cumbersome, bulky devices that are difficult to maintain and requireexcessive time to replace. While these capping turrets have worked wellfor their intended use, they simply no longer perform as efficiently asis desirable.

[0012] Thus, a need exists in the art for an improved capping machine orcapping turret, especially one well-suited for use with lighter bottles,and particularly plastic petaloid bottles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0013] The present invention overcomes the above-perceived problemsassociated with the known art. The present invention provides anefficient capping machine with an improved turret that may beretrofitted to existing capping machines or included as an integralcomponent of a new capping machine. The improved capping machineincludes a rotatable turret that is significantly smaller thanconventional bottling turrets. The improved turret utilizes fewer movingparts and it has a smaller mass that enables the turret to rotate moreefficiently while requiring less power.

[0014] The improved capping machine includes a rotating turret sectioncoupled to a mounting plate and support. A cap delivery chute assemblyis associated therewith.

[0015] The improved turret includes a rotatable frame secured to anelevation shaft of the central hub via a torsion bearing assembly. Therotatable frame is driven by a bull gear associated with the cappingmachine.

[0016] Preferably, a plurality of spindles, generally at least two ormore, are regularly spaced about the periphery of the turret. Eachspindle secures a screw-on cap to a respective bottle during turretrotation. The bull gear drives each spindle as the turret rotates aboutthe central hub. Ordinarily, each spindle secures a screw-on cap to abottle during slightly less than one revolution of the turret about thecapping machine.

[0017] Each spindle includes a spindle cylinder secured to the turret byan upper plate and a lower plate. Each spindle cylinder includes amobile spindle piston that moves vertically inside the spindle cylinder.An elongated spindle shaft is secured to the piston. An importantfeature of the invention is the ability to remove an entire spindle unitfrom the turret. This facilitates more efficient maintenance whiledecreasing down time.

[0018] The spindle shaft has upper and lower terminal ends. The upperterminal end of the spindle shaft includes a spindle gear that is drivenby the bull gear. The lower terminal end of the spindle shaft includes acapping head secured thereto for screwing caps onto a bottle. Anintermediate cam follower is secured to the spindle shaft. The camfollower is secured to the piston which is rotationally secured by brassslides. The spindle rotates inside the stationery piston.

[0019] During turret rotation, the spindle piston moves vertically inthe spindle cylinder as the spindle follower traverses a track definedin an inner cam secured to the central hub.

[0020] In many conventional bottling machines, the spindle movesupwardly and downwardly in response to the cam follower as the turretrotates about the cam between an upper dwell and a lower dwell where thecap is screwed on to the bottle. The present invention works similarly.

[0021] The rotating turret is driven by a peripheral gear upon thecentral hub. As the turret rotates, the bull gear drives the spindlegears to rotate the spindle shafts. The cam follower on each spindleshaft follows the cam track on the central cam to raise and lower thespindle as is the conventional manner. As the spindle passes the capdelivery assembly, the capping head picks up a bottle cap for subsequentapplication to a bottle.

[0022] The associated cap delivery assembly places respective bottlecaps adjacent rotating bottles beneath the capping head during thedescent from the upper dwell to the lower dwell such that the cap mayenter the capping head in a conventional fashion for subsequentplacement upon the bottle.

[0023] The capping turret as well as the cap delivery assembly aresynchronized so that caps are delivered during the proper sequence ofevents to be loaded into the capping head as the capping head moves pastthe cap delivery assembly region.

[0024] After a cap is inserted into the capping head, the capping headmoves to an upper position above the bottle top for subsequentapplication of the screw-on closure to the bottle. As the turretcontinues to rotate, the cam follower descends in the cam track to lowerthe spindle shaft and capping head with captured closure upon theupright bottle. During the entire procedure, the capping head andspindle shaft rotate so that the bottle closure is already rotating asit descends upon the bottle threaded neck adjacent the bottle top. Thecapping head secures the closure to the bottle with the application ofsufficient torque to ensure retention thereof.

[0025] Thus, a principle object of the present invention is to providean improved capping machine wherein the turret assembly is smaller andlighter than conventional assemblies.

[0026] A related object of the present invention is to provide animproved capping machine that may be operated more efficiently thanexisting devices.

[0027] Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedcapping machine that may rotate faster than conventional devices.

[0028] Another object of the present invention is to provide arelatively low maintenance capping machine.

[0029] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide animproved capping machine wherein a turret assembly may be retrofitted toexisting machines quickly and proficiently to minimize down times.

[0030] Another object of the present invention is to provide a reliablecapping machine that may be easily serviced with minimal down time.

[0031] Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedcapping machine with fewer moving parts to minimize potential breakdownsthat halt operations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of animproved turret for a bottle capping machine.

[0033]FIG. 2 is a partially fragmented top plan view thereof withportions omitted for clarity.

[0034]FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the turret of FIG. 1 along lines 3-3of FIG. 2.

[0035]FIG. 4 is a fragmented perspective view of a spindle assembly inthe turret.

[0036] FIGS. 5-22 are copies of color photographs of an exemplaryembodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0037] The present invention provides an efficient capping machine withan improved turret that may be retrofitted to existing capping machinesor included as an integral component of a new capping machine. Theimproved capping machine 40 includes a rotatable turret 50 that issignificantly smaller than conventional bottling turrets. The improvedturret 50 utilizes fewer moving parts and it has a smaller mass thatenables the turret 50 to rotate more efficiently while requiring lesspower.

[0038] The improved capping machine 40 includes a rotating turretsection 50 coupled to a mounting hub 42 and support. A cap deliverychute assembly 80 is associated therewith.

[0039] The improved capping machine includes a central hub 42 with anelevation shaft 44. The elevation shaft 44 supports a top plate 43. Thetop plate 43 supports a top plate hub 45 mounted therebelow. The topplate hub 45 supports the cam support hub 47 as well as a bull gear 46.The cam support hub 47 in turn supports the cam 48. A cam track 49 isdefined in the outer periphery of the cam 48.

[0040] The improved turret 50 includes a rotatable frame 52 secured toan elevation shaft 44 of the central hub 42 via a torsion bearingassembly 54. The rotatable frame 52 is driven by a bull gear 46associated with the capping machine 40.

[0041] Preferably, a plurality of identical spindles 60, generally atleast six or more, are regularly spaced about the periphery of theturret 50. Each spindle 60 secures a screw-on cap 110 to a respectivebottle 120 during turret rotation. The bull gear 46 drives each spindle60 as the turret 50 rotates about the central hub 42. Ordinarily, eachspindle 60 secures a screw-on cap 110 to a bottle 120 during slightlyless than one revolution of the turret 50 about the capping machine 40.

[0042] Each spindle 60 includes a spindle cylinder 62 secured to theturret 50 by an upper plate 64 and a lower plate 66. Each spindlecylinder 62 includes a mobile spindle piston 68 that moves verticallyinside the spindle cylinder 62. An elongated spindle shaft 70 is securedinside the piston 68.

[0043] The spindle shaft 70 has upper and lower terminal ends 72, 74.The upper terminal end 72 of the spindle shaft 70 includes a spindlegear 76 that is driven by the bull gear 46. The lower terminal end 74 ofthe spindle shaft 70 includes a capping head 78 secured thereto forscrewing a cap onto a bottle. An intermediate cam follower 79 is securedto the piston 68 between ends. During turret rotation, the spindlepiston 68 moves vertically in the spindle cylinder 62 as the camfollower 79 traverses the track 49 defined in the inner cam 48 securedto the central hub 42.

[0044] In many conventional bottling machines, the spindle movesupwardly and downwardly in response to the cam follower as the turretrotates about the cam between an upper dwell and a lower dwell where thecap is screwed on to the bottle. The present invention works similarly.

[0045] The rotating turret 50 is driven by a peripheral gear (not shown)upon the central hub 42. As the turret 50 rotates, the bull gear 46drives the spindle gears 76 to rotate the spindle shafts 70. The camfollower 79 on each spindle shaft 70 follows the cam track 49 on thecentral cam 48 to raise and lower each spindle 60 as is the conventionalmanner. As the spindle passes the cap delivery assembly 80, the cappinghead 78 picks up a bottle cap 110 for subsequent application to a bottle120.

[0046] The associated cap delivery assembly 80 places respective bottlecaps adjacent rotating bottles beneath the capping head 78 during thedescent from the upper dwell to the lower dwell such that the cap 110may enter the capping head 78 in a conventional fashion for subsequentplacement upon the bottle 120.

[0047] The capping turret 50 as well as the cap delivery assembly 80 aresynchronized so that caps are delivered during the proper sequence ofevents to be loaded into the capping head as the capping head moves pastthe cap delivery assembly region.

[0048] After a cap is inserted into the capping head, the capping headmoves to an upper position above the bottle top for subsequentapplication of the screw-on closure to the bottle. As the turretcontinues to rotate, the cam follower descends in the cam track to lowerthe spindle shaft and capping head with captured closure upon theupright bottle. During the entire procedure, the capping head andspindle shaft rotate so that the bottle closure is already rotating asit descends upon the bottle threaded neck adjacent the bottle top. Thecapping head secures the closure to the bottle with the application ofsufficient torque to ensure retention thereof.

[0049] An important feature of the present invention is the ability toremove entire spindles from the turret for maintenance and otherreasons. The removal of the entire spindle permits the spindle to beeasily disassembled and/or serviced at a later point while minimizingdown-time in that a replacement spindle may be easily inserted. Theremoval of spindle 60 requires minutes. To remove the spindle 60, anoperator loosens the spindle retention bolts 65 securing the spindle tothe lower plate 66. The operator then rotates the spindlecounterclockwise to remove the key 67 on the exterior of the spindlecylinder 62 with a release 69. Once the key and release have beenaligned, the operator then simply slides the spindle 60 downwardly toremove it from the lower plate 66.

[0050] To install a replacement spindle, the operator merely aligns thespindle 60 with the hole in the lower plate 66 and inserts the spindletherein. The key is aligned with the keeper 69 and inserted therein. Thespindle retaining bolts are then tightened to secure the spindle inplace.

[0051] An important feature of the present invention is the provision ofan improved turret capping machine having a rotatable turret withquick-change spindles. Another important feature of the presentinvention is the provision of an improved, lightweight turret assemblythat enhances the speed of the bottling operation.

[0052] The improved turret includes two or more quick-change spindlesthat may be easily removed and/or replaced to minimize downtime.

[0053] Whereas, the present invention has been described in relation tothe drawings attached hereto, it should be understood that other andfurther modifications, apart from those shown or suggested herein, maybe made within the spirit and scope of this invention.

1. An improved turret or a bottle capping machine as describedhereinabove.